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Photographer Statement

Paul is a professional photographer specializing in travel imagery, business portraiture, architectural photography, and product imagery. He is based in Portland, OR, USA. Paul has traveled to 61 countries and been in Africa 12 times. He has a Masters in International Relations from Johns Hopkins International Studies and previously worked in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His images from this collection are on display in Tualatin, OR, and soon will move to 2 other locations in Portland, OR.He has received grants and scholarships from the Portland Regional Arts and Culture Council, Nikon, the National Press Photographers Association, and the Academy of Arts University.

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Zimbabwe Ministry of Education, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Education, Office of the Prime Minister

Caption:
These women in Zimbabwe are role playing regarding how to deal with the situation where their husband comes home from work and demands all her produce sale money. Women are taught by an NGO how to deal with this situation in a firm, safe and effective manner.

A huge factor in the success of emerging countries is the triumph of women in moving their cultures forward.

Women’s' opportunity for education and health are threatened in the hobbled, politicized economy in Zimbabwe, Often there is no room in family budgets for school fees and the daughter lacks any hope providing, visible l role models.

On a more positive note, there are women in Zimbabwe who have led lives of amazing inspiration, working for the benefit of others without expectation of personal material gain - yet they toil silently in the shadows of Zimbabwe because of geographic isolation or the lack of media to bring resources to their efforts. This project is about starting to change that situation.

During my 3rd visit to Zimbabwe in 2012 to get this story, I was incarcerated by the Mugabe regime. Over four years, I met with over a dozen NGO's and numerous clients of theirs to witness motivating lives. I plan to expand the story to another African nation with adequate support.

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Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

These women in Zimbabwe are role playing regarding how to deal with the situation where their husband comes home from work and demands all her produce sale money. Women are taught by an NGO how to deal with this situation in a firm, safe and effective manner.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Agriculture is the main industry in Zimbabwe, and women form the heart of the small agricultural farm sector in the country. Many have benefited from foreign aid programs that provide small loans, seeds, and financial and agricultural training. These women received NGO assistance in creating an irrigation system for their crops in a highly isolated area. Once the breadbasket of Southern Africa, large farm agricultural production in Zimbabwe has severely eroded since independence, so it is on the backs of women such as these that Zimbabwe is fed.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

These three girls attend Nzewe, a school for the deaf in Mutare, Zimbabwe. There they receive an education and technical training. Nzewe offers sign language training to not just the kids, but also their parents. Without that, deaf children can be ostracized within their own families, given their communication challenges.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This woman is part of a sports program for females that is funded by the Zimbabwe provincial sports authority and a Scandinavian NGO. This image was created during a regional competition covering players and teams from the entire province. The winner of the final competition in each sport was rewarded with a 10 pound bag of maize, the staple food in Zimbabwe.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This woman proudly displays her child In urban Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Mozambique holds tremendous tourism potential with it’s coastline, and this woman’s child could enjoy a tremendously different standard of living if tourism revenues trickle down to citizens fairly.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Interpretation of laws and customs in urban areas such as where this woman lives are somewhat open minded. In rural areas, male village chiefs hold tremendous sway over culture, politics, and the life women are expected to lead.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This Ugandan woman awaits health care for her child at a rural clinic created by a faith based organization.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Faith is a cornerstone of life in Zimbabwe. Many believe it is a major factor behind the patience Zimbabweans exhibit in waiting for political, social and economic change. Church leadership, however, is primarily male dominated.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Lucy is the sole nurse at Island Hospice in Mutare. Island Hospice serves patients who are generally considered terminally ill. Recently, the Portland, OR, USA - Mutare, Zimbabwe Sister City Association decided to fund part of the cost of a four wheel drive to help assure that Lucy can reach her patients in the rainy season on dirt roads.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Lucy lives in a highly isolated area of eastern Zimbabwe. Through farming she feeds a large extended family made up of children from her siblings, who perished from AIDS years ago. Lucy was the genesis of this project, for she labored quietly without expectation of glory, simply stating that her key desire was that her children would be able to attend school, as she did not enjoy that right as a child. Lucy's farm was started with seeds provided by NGO Families in Need.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Sports programs in Zimbabwe provide a tremendous outlet for women of all ages who seek social and physical activities outside their home. For many women, the activity wouldn’t be possible without NGO funding, and the enthusiasm and sense of accomplishment among the participants in this competition in Mutare, Zimbabwe were palpable.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

At Nzewe, a school that provides education for deaf children via funding from overseas NGOs, parents and their kids learn to sign, and the children receive an education. Without the programs offered by NZEWE, these children would suffer extensive stigma in the community and within their family, seen as nonproductive, time consuming members of society. Through financing of hearing hardware and the vigorous efforts of uniquely capable teachers and Director Libby Foster, a broad range of deaf youth now lead very different lives.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This girl is fortunate to be able to attend school. When family budgets run short in Zimbabwe, the boys go to school and the girls stay home given steep school fees. The pride this girl has, despite tattered clothing, will be important as she seeks to overcome patriarchal attitudes in rural Zimbabwe.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This Kenyan teen's future relies heavily on tourism, as her village is not far from the Samburu Game Reserve. Her village benefits from village visits by tourists who purchase handicrafts made by village women. Whether her economic future can rely on a broader economic base remains to be seen.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This nurse works at a hospice for AIDS patients in South Africa. Since pay for nurses in South Africa is higher than in neighboring Zimbabwe, there has been a drain of nurses from Zimbabwe to South Africa. This hospice receives financial assistance from a Catholic mission led by an Irish nun and priest.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Four women meet in rural Zimbabwe on their separate ways to sell and buy foodstuffs. Microfinance is the heart of agricultural production in rural Zimbabwe, where small loans from NGOs allow women to buy seed, grow crops, transport them to market, and sell them, eking out a living that supports large families in difficult terrain.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Maria walks toward a medical clinic and a school made of tin sheds serving the squatter camp of Freedom City, South Africa. She works for the Catholic Mission that provides medical and child education services to residents of the camp. Maria’s function is to visit clients with medical and practical needs regularly to assess what can be provided. She also seeks to verify med compliance, so that AIDS medicines are effective and resistance is not induced through skipped doses. Maria lives in the camp herself.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Ms. Gweru is a city councilor for the 3rd district in Mutare, Zimbabwe. She was elected to office after the Mugabe government ousted her husband from the position for taking positions that the government didn’t like. Ms Gweru and her husband are active supporters of neighborhood self-help programs to address the fact that city services are sorely lacking in Mutare. Ms Gweru is one of the most visible elected officials in Eastern Zimbabwe, in what is a very politically tense environment.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This girl is participating in a program offered by the Red Cross for emergency health training. A large NGO in Zimbabwe, the Red Cross is unique in offering these services and in providing programs to assist in the health needs of incarcerated men and women there.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This woman is a participant in the “Shandira” program, which pulls in volunteers to clean up neighborhoods at a time when the city of Mutare lacks resources to provide trash collection and other basic services. The program is predominantly populated by women, and it is supported to some degree by Mercy Corp and other NGOs. In her hand is the “broom” she uses to sweep land and streets in her neighborhood with a group of other residents. Many of the participants lacked adequate footwear to perform this task, but their pride in their endeavor overcomes that limitation.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

This woman lives in Liberty City, South Africa. Liberty City is a shanty town of squatters from outside South Africa, many from Zimbabwe. This woman lives in a metal shed on barren land, as do a couple thousand people. Her husband works in the nearby factory. While he’s lucky to have a job, the week before I was there, 9 men were killed in the factory due to falling raw ore. Most of the inhabitants are infected with tuberculosis and/or HIV, and a nearby Catholic mission provides limited medical services. The village has no garbage service, and water is available for purchase via tanker trucks that come by. Rats in the streets are a common site. The mission is run by one nun and one priest, who are now expanding their outreach into a third squatter village.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

Mary lives in a home for destitute seniors in Zimbabwe that is run by two nuns. Staff knows that Mary is over 100 years old. I first visited Mary in 2009 and took this portrait. When I returned in 2010, I gave Mary prints of the images I’d taken the year before. I had planned to see if Mary was still alive during my 2012 trip, until I was incarcerated for political purposes in Harare and prevented from going to Mutare.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

A client of Island Hospice in Zimbabwe who has AIDS. HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe has been reduced to 15%, a remarkable decline over past years.

Paul Sivley | Out of the Shadows: Inspirational Women in Africa | Zimbabwe

The school system in Zimbabwe essentially collapsed starting around 1990. Books are extremely dated, in poor condition, and sparse. Classroom sizes run from 40-50 kids. Many teachers have left Zimbabwe for better paying teaching jobs in South Africa. A nationwide strike a few years ago shut down schools for an entire year. Classrooms in Zimbabwe are undersized, poorly maintained, unsafe in terms of construction and exposure to electrical wiring, and with windows often broken. Heat and air conditioning are completely absent in rural areas. Arguably, there is no greater area of Zimbabwe's economy in need of NGO assistance than education. The Portland-Mutare, Zimbabwe Sister City Association supports educational and health programs in eastern Zimbabwe, not far from where this image was created.